Friday, December 9, 2016

My favorite San Jose magazine is celebrating its fifth year with a free event next Tuesday, December 13th at Art Object Gallery (592 N. 5th St., San Jose).

Music will be provided by Wax Moon, Cado Dos Santos, Mardi Morillo, April Gee, and Steely Nash. Snacks and light bites will be provided by Michi Sushi, The Cookie Boys, Manresa Bread, and the Mount Hamilton GrandView Restaurant.

Content Magazine subscribers will get a complimentary beverage and holiday gift bag along with their issue. If you are still not a subscriber, head over here.

They are also partnering with Toys for Tots on this event. It is encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy for a child in need (age range is 0-16).

The event will run from 7pm-10pm and street parking is available as well as a city lot on 6th and Jackson.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

San Jose is just one year away from finally being connected to BART. Below is the latest update from the VTA, which is responsible for the extension to Silicon Valley. Both the Milpitas and San Jose stations should be open in late 2017. Watch the short video below for construction photos and details.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

First off, let me say that I have really missed Nathan Donato-Weinstein's articles in the SVBJ. I am thrilled to see him writing again in the SJ Economy blog.

He recently visited BriteLab, a high-tech South San Jose manufacturing company that makes everything from 3D printers to electric skateboards. The 55,000 SQFT space is a startup incubator that helps new companies bring their products to market. BriteLab provides product-development, design, engineering, manufacturing, and support services. Currently BriteLab employs 75 people, but they are planning to grow to 150.

Monday, December 5, 2016

Development in the Santana Row neighborhood will likely never be fully complete, but the last major project with an official Santana Row street address is now underway. '700 Santana Row' will provide a bookend to what is one of the most successful mixed-use developments in the world.

The 284,000 SQFT premium office building will be located at the very end of the row next to the CineArts movie theater. The offices feature 13-foot ceilings, expansive floor plans, and a 15,000 SQFT garden terrace on the roof. The ground floor will have a signature plaza that will be open to all.

Parking will be available in a new parking structure that will also be open to the public during evenings and weekends. Thankfully, Santana Row will be offering shuttle service to Diridon Station as an alternate transportation option. The total cost of the project is expected to be between $205-215 million and completion should wrap up by Q3 2018 according to the SVBJ.

The full press release is below. Thanks to Ron Heckmann for sending this in.

San Jose, CA (Dec. 1, 2016) -- Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) started construction today on 700 Santana Row, a 284,000 square-foot office building set on a signature plaza with a sweeping design that anchors the end of Santana Row, Silicon Valley’s iconic mixed-use neighborhood. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo joined Federal Realty executives and other local officials to commemorate the ground breaking.

The state-of-the-art, eight-story structure at Santana Row at Olsen Drive features 30,000 and 48,000 square-foot floorplates, modern architecture and headquarters-quality office space with concrete construction, which gives the building distinctive design qualities compared to traditional Silicon Valley office buildings. 700 Santana Row follows the highly successful 500 Santana Row, a six-story office building on an adjacent site fully-leased to Splunk Inc. in 2015 with occupancy slated to begin next month. The project cost is estimated at $205-$215 million.

"700 Santana Row is a ‘capstone’ building that takes full advantage of being the visual book-end to Santana Row, which has become one of the most popular live-work-dine-shop environments in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. No other office building will have this unique, commanding location,” said Jan Sweetnam, Federal Realty’s Western Region Chief Operating Officer. “We’ve designed the building with a concrete structure and loft-like feel more often found in San Francisco’s SOMA district and other urban centers. 700 Santana Row will feature expansive natural light with tall, market-leading 13-foot ceilings and open floor plans, which in turn will provide companies with high-productivity, collaborative workspaces for their employees.”

Ready for tenant build-out in the third quarter of 2018, 700 Santana Row will also feature a three-per-thousand dedicated parking ratio and a 15,000 square-foot roof-top terrace and garden with majestic views of Santana Row, the San Jose skyline and distant foothills. Shuttle service will take Santana Row office tenants to nearby Diridon Station for Caltrain and VTA light rail service.

“And unlike the congested 101 corridor,” Sweetnam added, “Santana Row is located directly off of Interstate 280 in close proximity to residential neighborhoods and office parks in San Jose, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara, and throughout Silicon Valley.”

“The on-site amenities and walkable environment that Santana Row offers has become a recruiting and retention tool for Splunk, Experian, Si-Bone and the other companies located here,” said Jeff Berkes, President-West Coast for Federal Realty Investment Trust.

Newmark Cornish & Carey is the leasing agent for the project. 700 Santana Row has been designed by WRNS Studio of San Francisco, and Devcon Construction is the general contractor.

About Federal Realty
Federal Realty is a recognized leader in the ownership, operation and redevelopment of high-quality retail based properties located primarily in major coastal markets from Washington, D.C. to Boston as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles. Founded in 1962, our mission is to deliver long term, sustainable growth through investing in densely populated, affluent communities where retail demand exceeds supply. Our expertise includes creating urban, mixed-use neighborhoods like Santana Row in San Jose, California, Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, Maryland and Assembly Row in Somerville, Massachusetts. These unique and vibrant environments that combine shopping, dining, living and working provide a destination experience valued by their respective communities. Federal Realty's 96 properties include over 2,800 tenants, in approximately 22 million square feet, and over 1,800 residential units.

Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 49 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT. For additional information about Federal Realty and its properties, visit www.FederalRealty.com.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Just when it looked like the real estate market was simmering down, San Jose rents have jumped up again. In fact, for November rents are up percentage-wise more than anywhere else in the county for one-bedroom units. The average rental price for these is now $2,591/month, which is a 13% increase over the previous month.

The reason for the surge is not clear, but most experts believe we are indeed at the top of the market and expect some decline going forward. It might be a good time to hold off on signing a long-term rental agreement.

Friday, December 2, 2016

The first Artist in Residence for the SJMQT is Amy Ahlstrom, an urban, pop art quilter. She is unveiling five San Jose-themed quilts at the First Friday Art Walk tonight entitled "Faces & Places of San Jose." She asked people to submit photos of San Jose graffiti, faces, street art, buildings, signage, and she made the quilts based on those photos. Below is a video that explains her process as well as a couple preview photos.

While you are in the museum, there is also a new exhibit called the "California Art Quilt Revolution" which showcases 40 years of Northern Californian quilting history.

The museum will be open late along with the rest of the galleries in SoFA and admission is free for South First Friday. It's a cool museum--make sure to include it in your art walk!

Thursday, December 1, 2016

For the second straight month, unemployment in Silicon Valley has stayed under that magical 4% threshold. It did tick up a tenth of a point from 3.8% in September to 3.9% in October. California is at 5.3% unemployment while the nation is averaging 4.7%. So the net of it is that the nation as a whole is doing quite well, but San Jose is in an exceptional position when it comes to jobs. The rate is even more impressive when you consider we have the highest paying jobs for any large city in the country, if not the world. Now let's find a way to fix those potholes.